Battle of Doiran (1918)
Bulgaria |combatant2= United Kingdom Greece |commander1= Vladimir Vazov Stefan Nerezov |commander2= Henry Wilson George Milne |strength1= - 9th (Pleven) Infantry division, with parts of 11th Infantry division's 1st Macedonian Brigade and the Mountain Division (Total: 35 000)http://www.vi-books.com/vis/vis4_1/01_otbranata....htm |strength2= - United Kingdom: the 22nd division reinforced - Greece: Serres and Crete divisions (29,328 men ) |casualties1= unknown total 9th Division: 2,726 totalНедев pp.227 |casualties2= 3,155Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 217 - c.3,420Διεύθυνση Ιστορίας Στρατού, Ο Ελληνικός Στρατός κατά τον Πρώτον Παγκόσμιον Πόλεμον, Τόμος Δεύτερος, Η Συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος εις τον Πόλεμον 1918, Αθήναι 1961, appendixes 13 and 14, page 222 - 3,871Salonika and Macedonia 1916-1918 3,404 (official) - 3,948 Total: 6,559 - 7,819. }} The third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 September to 19 September 1918, with the Greeks and the British assaulting the positions of the Bulgarian First Army near Dojran Lake. The battle was part of World War I and took place in the Balkan Theatre. The battle ended with the Bulgarians repulsing all attacks. Prelude The Greeks and the British set off from their base at Thessaloniki at the same time as the Serbs and the French. The Greeks and the British, under the command of George Milne set off the attack on the Bulgarian positions at Dojran while the Serbs and the French under the command of Franchet d'Esperey went to penetrate the Bulgarian defences in the Vardar Valley. The Greeks and the British were aiming to capture the Bulgarian positions in the hills above Dojran Lake. This was not the first time the Allies had attacked Dojran - in 1916, an Anglo-French attempt was repulsed by the Second Thracian Infantry Division; the British had twice failed to capture it in 1917. The fortifications were well built (by Bulgarian engineers), the Bulgarians having spent the first months of 1916 and early 1917 strengthening the positions. The terrain around the area was rough, the fortifications being surrounded with three miles of scrub and rocks. Part of the defences were the dangerous Pip Ridge and the Grand Couronné. The battle On the left, the British XII Corps made up of the 22nd and 26th Divisions, reinforced by the Greek Seres division was to attack the difficult Pip Ridge.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 199 The British concentrated 231 pieces of artillery, including heavy 8 inch howitzers. The bombardment took place over two days, included gas shells and concluded with a rolling barrage behind which the infantry was to advance. The British spent the time before the battle practicing and preparing for the assault. Facing them was the Bulgarian 9th Pleven Division with 122 guns, in very well prepared defenses, commanded by General Vladimir Vazov. On September 18, the British XII Corps attacked with the 66th and 67th Brigades of the 22nd Division and the Greek Seres Division. The Bulgarian first line of trenches was overrun, and the Seres Division penetrated to the second line. The Bulgarians responded with heavy artillery fire and counter-attacks that recaptured the ground lost. Meanwhile the British 66th Brigade's 7th South Wales Border battalion lost heavily and failed in its attacks. Attacks by its the 11th Welsh Regiment and 9th Border Regiment did not go well either. The British 67th Brigade's 12th Cheshire Regiment followed by the 9th South Lancashire Regiment and 8th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) charged into withering Bulgarian artillery and machinegun fire. the 67th Brigade lost 65% of its soldiers.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 206 At the end of the day the XII Corps was back at its starting point. On September 19, the XII Corps attacked again. Because the XVI Corps attacks north of the lake had failed, the XII Corps would attack alone. The Greek Seres Division repeated the previous day's performance, taking some Bulgarian trenches before being thrown back by heavy artillery, machine gun fire and counterattacks. The British attacked with the 77th Brigade, the weakened 65th Brigade, and later the 2nd French Zouaves. The 66th Brigades and 67th Brigades were fit only for defensive duties and did not participate. The 77th Brigade took some Bulgarian trenches, but it was in an exposed position, being hammered by artillery and eventually retreated before the Bulgarians counter-attacked. The brigade suffered about 50% casualties.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 214 The 65th Brigade's attack failed also, as did the French Zouvaves.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 216 Meanwhile, also on September 18, the British XVI Corps attacked with the Greek Cretan Division, and the British 84th Brigade in support. They faced the Bulgarian 1st Macedonian Brigade with 24 guns and 64 machine guns.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 201 The Greek division attacked with two of its regiments up front and a third in reserve, supported on its flank by the 84th. Firing in support were six batteries of British artillery. The British 85th Brigade in reserve. At 0500 the Greeks attacked, clearing out the Bulgarian outpost line. They then had to move across a long plain to attack the Bulgarian positions on a series of hills that overlooked the plain. The Greeks recklessly attacked across the plain, and penetrated the Bulgarian lines but were thrown back with heavy artillery, rifle, and machinegun fire.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 210 The British artillery deployed behind them to provide fire support. The Greeks rallied and made several more attacks on the Bulgarian lines with the same result as the first time. By the evening the Greeks withdrew followed a few hours later by the British artillery. The XVI Corps did not attack on 19 September due to casualties. The attack failed due to the lack of artillery support, problems with inter-unit communication and the reckless first attack by the Greeks.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 211 Casualties The Allies' losses totalled between 6,559 and 7,819 British and Greek soldiers, against 2,726 for the Bulgarians. Most of the British and Greek loses were to the XII Corps and Seres Division, with less than 1,000 coming from the XVI Corps and Cretan Division. Retreat Several days after the battle, the British realized the Bulgarian fortifications were quiet. The Greek and British armies advanced only to find the Bulgarian positions abandoned. The Serbs and French armies had defeated part of the Bulgarian army in the Vardar valley and were advancing towards Doiran. This prompted the command of Army Group Scholtz to order the Bulgarian First Army to retreat so that it would not be cut off from the rear. The British were weary and pursued slowly, and Bulgarian rear guards fought well enough to allow the rest of their troops to get away. The British Royal Air Force did attack the retreating Bulgarian columns inflicting some casualties.Wakefield and Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918, 221 Aftermath The Allies continued to advance into Bulgarian-held territory and some said the Bulgarian army had mutinied and were threatening Sofia. On September 30, the Bulgarians surrendered to the allies in Thessaloniki in order to avoid occupation. The British paid great honor to General Vladimir Vazov when in 1936 he arrived in Victoria Station in London, by lowering the flags of all their regiments who participated in the battle. The chairman of the British legion Major Goldy said in his speech: “He is one of the few foreign officers whose name features in our history”. Notes See also *Macedonian front (World War I) Footnotes References * AJP Taylor. History of World War I. ISBN 0-7064-0398-3 * Атанас Пейчев, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство София 1981 * Alan Wakefield, Simon Moody, Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915-1918. ISBN 0-7509-3537-5 * * Пейковска, П., Печатът за участието на 34-и Пехотен Троянски полк в боевете при Дойран Press on the Participation of 34th Troyan Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Doiran. - В: Културно-историческо наследство на Троянския край. Vol. 7, Троян, 1994, pp. 119–129. http://ivanpeykovski.blogspot.com/2013/01/34.html External links * World War I history * Salonika and Macedonia 1916-1918 * Димитър Зафиров. „Отбраната при Дойран“. Военноисторически сборник, брой 1, 2004 (Dimiter Zafirov. The Defence at Doyran.) * http://ivanpeykovski.blogspot.com/2013/01/34.html Category:Battles of the Balkans Theatre (World War I) Turtucaia Category:Battles involving Greece Category:Greece in World War I Category:Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom Category:1918 in Bulgaria Category:Vardar Macedonia (1912–18)